WAMU 88.5 Contributors

Ashley Dejean

Nightside Editor

Dejean does a little bit of everything—from filing stories to keeping tabs on the latest local news. The youngest member of our news team got her radio chops interning for Houston Public Radio, where she won first place in the Texas AP Broadcasters Contest Best Feature-Light category. Dejean also interned at Washington City Paper and a local daily in Pune, India, before coming to WAMU.

Articles Written by Ashley Dejean

Prince George's County police are using a helicopter and multiple K9 teams in a search for a man who sexually assaulted two women and robbed several individuals at gunpoint this afternoon in Hyattsville.
The first incident occured around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon when the man followed two women into the woods after they left their apartment building in the 6700 block of Belc...

The Smithsonian Institution is facing a $65 million budget cut this year under automatic funding reductions approved by Congress, which could lead to furloughs or museum closings if the cuts persist for the year ahead.
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough says the museum complex has trimmed its budget for the past year to absorb federal funding cuts, but now may have to turn t...

The NFL says it will meet with representatives of an Indian tribe from New York that is campaigning for the Washington Redskins to change their nickname.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says a meeting was scheduled for next month and could happen sooner.
The Oneida Indian Nation held a symposium on the issue in Washington Monday to coincide with the NFL owners' meetings...

A federal appeals court says two Virginia college newspapers can run advertisements for alcohol despite a regulation the state says is intended to curb illegal underage drinking.
The Fourth U.S. District Court of Appeals in Richmond has concluded the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission ban is unconstitutional as it applies to The Cavalier Daily at the Uni...

Starting October 1, the cost of new SmarTrip cards will drop from $5 to $2. Once the price drops though, riders will not be able to exit Metro with a negative SmarTrip balance of less than $1.50 to exit the station. Riders will have to add more value to their card using ExitFare machines.
But those machines only accept cash and coins. So Metro is asking riders to sign up for...

Reports that a U.S. Capitol Police team arrived within minutes of the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard but was told by a supervisor to stand down is prompting some people to ask whether Monday's death toll could have been lower.
Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine is ordering an investigation into the force's response to the shooting, which left 13 people dead, including the ...

The six-alarm fire that burned down an Alexandria warehouse on Labor Day appears to have been intentionally set, and city officials have identified a person of interest.
Officials with the Alexandria Fire Department say they have ruled out all accidental causes for the fire after conducting an investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ca...

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg performed a same-sex wedding Saturday in what is believed to be a first for a member of the nation's highest court.
Ginsburg officiated the wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist. Kaiser says he asked Ginsburg to conduct the ceremony because she's a longtime friend.
The priv...

The son of D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana in Virginia earlier this month.
Police say they observed Marion Christopher Barry, 33, driving a gray PT Cruiser erratically in Hampton around 9:10 p.m. on Aug. 16.
Police found what the officers belived to be marijuana on Barry's person, ...

A traveling hospital technician accused of causing a multistate outbreak of hepatitis C last year has pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.
David Kwiatkowski was accused of stealing painkiller syringes from Exeter Hospital in New Hamphire and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his own blood.
He worked at 18 hospitals in seven states before being...

Police in Montgomery County have arrested a music teacher at a Silver Spring elementary school and charged him with 14 counts of child sex abuse and various other charges, including second degree rape.
Lawrence Joynes, 54, was taken into custody at his home in Dundalk. He'...

Cleanup work is continuing at the National Cathedral following vandalism at two of its chapels.
Cathedral staff say that while paint has largely been removed from the gilt wooden reredos in the Children’s Chapel, green paint that was splattered on a pipe organ's façade and keyboard, wood paneling and the floor would take longer.
"A team of conservators is busy car...

The National Zoo has closed part of its panda house because its female giant panda may be pregnant.
Zoo officials say Mei Xiang is starting to show some behavioral changes and sensitivity to noise, leading the zoo to close the area around her den. The zoo says Mei Xiang's hormones are rising, indicating she is pregnant or experiencing a false pregnancy.
Mei Xiang was ...

A former D.C. teacher who was on the FBI's most wanted list faces charges of child pornography in multiple jurisdictions.
Lawyers are now in plea discussions in the case of Eric Justin Toth, a former private school teacher who was added to the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives during his five years on the run.
After being confronted about images of child pornography ...

D.C. police are continuing the investigation into the death of a 7-year-old boy with autism. Assistant Chief Peter Newsham says the initial autopsy doesn't show signs of trauma, but they aren't ruling out foul play.
Police are trying to figure out more than just how Michael Kingsbury died, but also how and when he got into the vehicle ...

Earlier this week, the State Department escalated its travel warnings for Egypt, and issued a mandatory evacuation for all nonessential diplomats due to a military coup. Local universities are also calling for students to leave the country.
"They have to rely on local folks to do things like bring food to them, and that's not comfortable, that's not appropriate," says Donna ...

The Washington Humane Society is conducting a criminal investigation into an allegation of dog poisoning near Logan Circle in Northwest D.C.
Area dog owners are concerned after someone reported on a neighborhood mailing list that their dog had been poisoned. The email alleges someone used pill pockets, meaty treats that help pets take medicine, to trick dogs into eating a h...

A college student from Chevy Chase, Md. was killed in Egypt during a clash between government supporters and opponents.
Andrew Pochter, 21, was in Alexandria, Egypt teaching young children English and improving his Arabic, according to a statement from his family. The family says he was stabbed by a protester while observing the demonstrations on Friday.
Drew Bail...

A woman has died and her two children have been injured along with several others in a multi-car crash in Anne Arundel County on Friday.
Maryland State Police have identified the mother as 41-year-old Katherine K. Grooms, of Fort Washington.
Police say her Honda Accord swerved across the grass median on Route 295 and collided head-on with a box truck heading in the op...

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